Memories of a Son Who Never Was
by Regalredstar
Summary: Sixth in the Fathers & Sons Series. It's an open secret in Eureka that Sheriff Carter considers Jo another daughter. What's not so well known is that he considers Zane his son. Carter/Zane father/son, Carter/Jo father/daughter


_Disclaimer: If I owned Eureka would I be writing fanfiction?_

_Series: Sixth in the **Fathers & Sons Series**_

_Series Explanation: **Father & Sons **is a series of oneshots that span across many fandoms and detail various father/son relationships, some typical, some not. The only rule is that the Father and Son cannot be in anyway biologically related._

_Summary: It's an open secret in Eureka that Sheriff Carter considers Jo another daughter. What's not so well known is that he considers Zane his son._

_Pairings: Carter/Zane Father/Son, Carter/Jo Father/Daughter_

It's an open secret in Eureka that Sheriff Carter considers Jo another daughter. It's so open in fact that Zoe and her friends treat Jo as if she's Zoe's older sister, and Henry (when Jack is out of earshot) calls Zoe and Jo, Jack's Girls. What's not so well known is the fact that, if Carter considers Jo his daughter, then he considers Zane his son.

So when Carter walks in on Zane proposing, he is overjoyed. Not just that the two of them have at last decided to formalize what everyone in Eureka has known for years, but because at last he doesn't have to hide the concern he feels whenever Zane takes a stupid risk. And if anyone asks he can just say that he's just looking out for the interests of one of his girls. (This will have the added bonus of making Henry embarrassed as he thinks that Jack doesn't know about that.)

And when Zane storms out, Carter feels terrible. He knows Jo, knows that she wasn't hesitating because she was saying no, but because she was surprised and got interrupted before she could say yes. Still he figures that everything will turn out all right. As soon as Jo can get Zane alone, she can give him her answer, and the town can have something extra special to celebrate this Founder's Day.

Then the time travel happens. And even though they make it back to their time, things have changed. Tess is back, Henry's married, Fargo's running GD, and Kevin's different. Worse than all that though is Zane. Zane is no longer himself. Or rather, he is himself, just not the self they left behind. Instead of the selfless loving man, scientist… hero, they left behind, he is once again the self-centered, childish criminal he was when he arrived in Eureka. And that fact is tearing not only Jo, but also Jack, apart.

At least Jo has her new job to distract her. Carter thrilled for her. Upon learning of it he wants to hug her, but that would be awkward for Jo. She's never been big on that kind of stuff.

Still every time she sees Zane she looks at him wistfully, and she searches desperately through his personnel file for some indication of the man she knew. Not that Jack blames her. He does the same thing after all.

It doesn't surprise Jack at all to find Jo sitting alone at the Sheriff's office. As she finally lets out all of her pain and longing for Zane, Carter wants nothing more than to pull her into his arms and let her cry out all of her tears. But Jo would never accept that. So Jack did the only thing he could and sat down beside her. Two figures lost in memories of a son who never was.

_AN: So here's the 6th story in Fathers & Sons. I'd been planning on doing a Carter/Zane piece for this series for a long time, and this new season gave me the perfect setting in which to do it. _

_If you liked this story check out the previous stories in my Fathers & Sons Series:_

_**The Only Thing That Matters** (Lydecker/Logan, Dark Angel)_

_**She Should Have Known Better** (Gibbs/Tony, NCIS)_

_**Never Prouder** (Stark/Fargo, Eureka)_

_**No Matter What the Cost** (Jack/Daniel, Stargate SG-1)_

_**Cookies Anyone? **(Artie/Pete, Warehouse 13)_

_These stories can be read in any order as they are only connected by theme._

_As for what's up next, well I'm not sure, I've got like four in the works, so which ever one I finish first will be the one I post._

_Remember reviews make writers very happy!_

_Til Next Time,_

_Regal_


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